Send us a text What if “success” as you’ve been chasing it isn’t the version that will actually fulfill you? In this conversation with photographer and former corporate leader Cate Scaglione , we move past the surface of business strategy and into the heart of alignment - building a life and business that supports your values instead of eroding them. Kate shares her journey from high-powered, high-stress corporate roles to crafting a photography business rooted in creativity, peace, and purpose....
Aug 11, 2025•50 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Send us a text Cat Ford-Coates and Pratik Naik explore the evolving landscape of AI in the creative industry, particularly in photography. They discuss the duality of AI's impact, from fear and uncertainty to excitement and opportunity. The dialogue emphasizes the importance of adaptability, intentionality, and the human experience in a tech-driven world. They also touch on environmental considerations, the role of curiosity, and the potential for AI to enhance creativity while urging listeners ...
Jul 28, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Send us a text The intricate relationship between self-worth and business success is a path every business owner travels. Cat and Lisa explore how confidence in one's value impacts pricing strategies, the importance of building a business that can operate independently of personal emotions, and the necessity of continuous learning and feedback. The discussion also touches on the evolving role of AI in creative industries, the significance of client education, and the need for accountability in o...
Apr 21, 2025•41 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Send us a text In this episode of the Studio Takeover Podcast, host Cat Ford-Coates delves into the significance of sponsorships and partnerships for business growth for photography business owners. She emphasizes the importance of building in-person relationships and how they can lead to substantial economic impact for both businesses and communities. The conversation covers effective strategies for creating sponsorship packages, identifying potential partners, and marketing events to maximize ...
Mar 17, 2025•24 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Send us a text Summary In this episode of the Studio Takeover Podcast, Cat Ford-Coates discusses the importance of marketing for photographers, emphasizing the need for networking and hosting events to gain visibility and connect with potential clients. She shares insights on creating memorable events, engaging attendees, budgeting effectively, and leveraging sponsorships to enhance event experiences. The conversation highlights the significance of building relationships within the community and...
Mar 10, 2025•19 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Send us a text In this conversation, Elle Yeon shares her journey of entrepreneurship over the past year, discussing the challenges and triumphs of starting her photography business. After having officially completed her first year as the business owner of a Portrait brand in the DC area she emphasizes the importance of community, the transformative power of photography for clients, and the need for confidence and courage in pursuing one's calling. Elle also reflects on her role as a mother and ...
Mar 03, 2025•36 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Send us a text Welcome André Smith, a photographer transitioning from sports photography to beauty and branding photography. They discuss the importance of empowerment in photography, the emotional reactions clients have during their photo reveals, and the significance of self-portraits in building confidence. André shares his journey, the challenges of being seen as a sports photographer, and his desire to help others see their beauty through portraiture. The conversation emphasizes the value o...
Feb 24, 2025•36 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Send us a text In this episode of the Studio Takeover Podcast, Cat Ford-Coates discusses the challenges faced by photographers in the unregulated creative industry, emphasizing the importance of a strong portfolio and effective marketing strategies. She highlights the need for photographers to curate their portfolios to attract their ideal clients and create emotional connections through their work. Cat also stresses the significance of consistency in style and messaging to foster client desire ...
Feb 17, 2025•37 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Send us a text Janice shares her journey into the world of portrait photography, starting her business after turning 60, emphasizing the importance of printed art over digital images, and the importance of intention in our work. She discusses the challenges and decisions involved in establishing her photography business, including the necessity of having a dedicated studio space. Janice also highlights the impact of community and systems in her work, leading to her current project focused on tat...
Feb 10, 2025•57 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Send us a text Tanya Boggs shares her journey as a photographer, discussing her evolution from family portraits to personal branding. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity in photography, especially in showcasing who you are as the face OF your brand and how understanding clients' stories can build trust. Tanya also highlights her new project "As You Are" focuses on women's resilience, aiming to empower and connect through shared experiences. The discussion delves into the significance o...
Feb 03, 2025•41 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Send us a text Jenna shares how she started her photography business with her husband with weddings in the northwest US. As they worked together more and more, and she stepped farther into her role as the Creative Director with setting scenes and posing during wedding creatives and realized they could make far more of an impact if she were also shooting. Diving deeper into learning the technical side of her camera work, she fell more and more in love with the craft and shares all about how they ...
Sep 16, 2024•46 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Send us a text Starting as a "momographer" in 2009 simply because she wanted real imagery of her four children and uncovered a LOVE in the medium which she turned into a business the way many of us do; at $100 per session. After practicing and learning posing, lighting, post production she has grown her business into a source of confidence with her repeat customers year after year capturing moments and milestones for families. Colleen also contributes to a charity known as Kids In Focus where sh...
Aug 26, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Send us a text Having lost everything on more than one occasion, Keri innovated her life and how she was showing up for her family, her business, and herself. At times it felt like she was creating something from nothing; her photography business, she wrote a book, stepping forward to teach manifestation online during the pandemic, and then in 2022 she created a 40 Over 40 campaign and she discovered her impact on a larger scale. "I didnt want models. I didnt want influencers. I wanted real peop...
Aug 19, 2024•29 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Send us a text Get OBSESSED. Like so obsessed within your creative process that you grow, evolve, and become more as an Artist. Jerry shares how if you're only considerate of the outcome; the final shot, the revenue, then the joy experienced from achievement is only from the result. It lasts for a fraction of a second, and it is in his obsession with the process of creating that he stays IN the joy of being a professional Artist. That's the key. There are seasons, & one of those seasons is i...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Send us a text In business now for ten years, Kimberly has found her stride as a boudoir photographer based out of Raleigh, NC. She has this enthusiasm for her work and what she does for her clients that is magnetic and her studio is finding new heights. She's spent the past ten years loving on her community and clients and finding that is paying off in more than just referrals but in authority. Just this summer Kimberly was recognized as one of The KNOW Women's "Women to KNOW in North Carolina"...
Aug 05, 2024•34 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Send us a text Once Darina started seeing the aha moments and transformations her clients were experiencing in their portrait sessions with her, she dove deeper into WHY. As photographers we sort of know on a subconscious level that we are also mindset coaches, therapists, and more in addition to being photographers. Darina has taken that role beyond the subconscious level and developed her expertise also in the neuroplasticity space. She has done this to be able to provide the most impactful ex...
Jul 29, 2024•37 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Send us a text Is the value of our work as portrait artists in the medium of print? In the digital file(s)? Or in HOW your clients FEEL when they experience that work day in and day out in their homes and where they choose to display that work? Now, we compound that experience in the materials we use to source and produce that artwork however, Andrew is the head of Fundy, and if you are at all familiar with Fundy you know how powerful the program is in time savings and streamlining your customer...
Jul 22, 2024•47 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Send us a text Between discovering her pregnancy and the pandemic occurring almost simultaneously, Amanda could exit the wedding space and begin to build her portrait business. The wedding industry taught her alot about valuing her business, her service, and her products which she incorporated into her portraits, especially in her love of her motherhood sessions. She and Cat go through her Motherhood marketing campaign and where she's struggling with her lead generation and discuss her advertisi...
Jul 15, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Send us a text An introvert's introvert, Ivana has learned that she COULD make excuses about not doing what's required for a portrait business owner to become successful: Im an introvert Its scary It cant happen in my town and the list goes on... But she also knows that SHE is responsible for the growth and success she's after for her business & she doesn't let fear stop her. She shows up for networking, is consistent in her organic efforts on social, and employs paid advertising for her cam...
Jul 08, 2024•46 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Send us a text Coming from a career as a piano teacher in Texas, and growing her portrait business to full time alongside her very supportive husband, Paula has discovered that having a sustainable foundation is the first step but her growth of that business is in discovering WHO she loves to photograph. Working from her home studio to keep her overhead low her next goal is to purchase a new space (commercial or a second house) to create an epic location with multiple concept opportunities to gr...
Jul 01, 2024•47 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Send us a text ADHD comes with it's own host of challenges and with the stigma historically associated with neurodivergence, can be a a point of contention for many creatives. Jen pulls back the curtain on the modes of the brain. Default: reflective, contemplation, rumination, day dreaming Active: Taking action Thoughts lead to emotion, to the emotion, to the action (or inaction). As neurodivergents tend to lean into the default, especially when self judgement comes into play. AKA the internal s...
Jun 23, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Send us a text Finding the mirror for your clients and yourself through portraiture is where Bex Wood THRIVES. She's discovered that when she is overly critical, that behavior is mirrored back in her clients' level of confidence during their sessions. This was an aha for her so she created The Moxie Project in her studio to lean into helping her clients discover their truest and most confident self. It didn't come without growth within herself though. She uncovered that her own negative self tal...
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Send us a text On our business journey as portrait artists we will be faced with our own limiting beliefs around what we value. Canadian portrait photographer Aamel Abed shares how coming to the portrait space following a career in IT she sold her work, as many of us do for $60 a session and included everything for her clients. Then hopping on a plane from Canada to Las Vegas for the WPPI tradeshow to see "who these people were that were charging a THOUSAND dollars for their sessions and who the...
Jun 10, 2024•40 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Send us a text "I want to give a gift..." Love Mim's approach in realizing that while she wants to be able to give a gift to the people she photographs and that means she needs to be sustainable and it needs to be worth her time. As much as we love our craft, the second we have created a business, we need to ensure that our infrastructure and sales process generates revenue so that our investment: in gear, wardrobe, education, subscriptions, insurance, and what WE are paid so the love we pour in...
Jun 03, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Send us a text Noel is expanding his offers in his branding and commercial work and already knows that in order to get results that no one else is getting, you have to incorporate what no one else is doing to get the desired results and create work your clients are thrilled to share in their brand and it is showing up in his opportunities with clients in New Orleans and outside of his local community and his show is on the road serving clients in Las Vegas, and California. Coming into the photo ...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Send us a text Heather is a POWERHOUSE!! From schools to corporations Heather has mastered the art and science of high volume branding photography. In this discussion Cat and Heather discovered their mutual love of systems and Heather shares with us how she got IN to photographing high volume work, and how she's evolved her processes to serve her clients at her best. Having started as an on location photographer photographing children and families, she discovered that not only the WAY she approa...
May 13, 2024•49 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Send us a text "I never thought of my work as a business. I was a freelancer..." For generations creatives were taught that you had a side gig to pay you so you can make the work you wanted to make on the side, and that simply isnt the case any longer. From educators like Cat Ford-Coates and Sue Bryce portrait photographers are learning that their work IS valuable. Jana was a street photographer for years and then in 2014 decided she wanted to learn more about studio lighting and dove into a per...
May 13, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Send us a text Working with your partner, up-leveling your skills, and nurturing yourself by knowing your own limitations so that you can be at your best to serve your clients and grow your business with Joni Hough. When we come into this space of owning and running a portrait business we often have expectations of ourselves in the name of "savings": we'll do hair and makeup and photograph our clients instead of hiring a professional. Seems innocent enough until the energetic bandwidth of DOING ...
May 06, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Send us a text Being a creative entrepreneur has its challenges and we could say those challenges are limited to the growth of our style, or improving technically, or in effective marketing even, but that isn't the all and the everything. Sometimes we have to make tough decisions too. Decisions like "do I get a job while I build this foundation?" or "do I take on THIS demographic so I can create what my heart loves too?" Josh Beaton is my guest on this week's podcast and I think you will find hi...
Apr 29, 2024•49 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Send us a text Bassam and Cat rekindle their Artist Forge connection and dig into his discovery of photography and spending a year mastering his skillsets in lighting, and posing, and upon his completion of that first year (2016) he exited his career as a VP in Aerospace. Bassam maintained a consultancy arm to stay connected in that industry for small and medium businesses but dove in headfirst in building his portrait business after assisting a friend on their photo shoot and discovering the jo...
Apr 22, 2024•55 min•Season 3Ep. 3
